The roads leading to
the wood were choked with bicycles, motor-cars, and pedestrians; and a
station near was disgorging a crowd of people from an excursion train.
It was time to be going.
He cut the grapnel rope, and started leisurely for Paris. He reached
it in about an hour, and circled about it, observing it from above.
Then he came to the Eiffel Tower, and practised steering round it, to
the great joy of an excited and applauding crowd which thronged its top
and stages. It was a great moment. He steered away over Paris, made a
meal of the coffee, brown bread, and sausage left, and came back.
He was growing tired of waiting, and was meditating crossing over the
top of the tower and pouring a little water from the ballast tank on
the sympathetic crowd, when he saw his father and Herr Schlugst forcing
their way through it. At once he rose above the tower and let down the
grapnel. A dozen hands seized it, and drew down the machine. Tinker
let the stored gas flow into the balloon to allow for Herr Schlugst's
extra weight; and lowered the rope-ladder. The bursting Teuton came
clambering up it, forcing down the car and planes by his weight on to
the heads of the crowd, which was forced to hold them up with a
thousand hands.
Pages:
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101